Interfacial thermal properties and size-effect in thermo-mechanical characterisation of nanocomposites

Carbon nanostructure-based multifunctional materials have found various applications in advanced composite structures primarily due to their enhanced mechanical characteristics like high strength-to-weight ratio and unique thermal and physio-chemical properties of the nanostructures. The effect of size of the nanoparticle is found to significantly affect the overall thermo-mechanical properties of the nanocomposite material. To understand and develop efficient composite systems with the desired thermal characteristics, it is necessary to develop an accurate thermal transport model that considers these ‘size parameters’ along with the various parameters that influence the thermal properties. The novelty of this study is the development of a multiscale mathematical framework and simulation strategy to estimate the thermal transport properties of nanostructure-based composites by considering the size-effect obtained from the thermal transport phenomenon together with their interfacial thermal properties obtained from atomistic simulations.